Breakout stars of 2017

As we approach the end of 2017, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at some of the biggest breakout stars of the year. Keep reading to get the scoop on Meghan Markle, Cardi B, Noah Cyrus and more of the actors, musicians, models and personalities who had everyone talking this year… starting with Prince Harry's girlfriend. The 36-year-old actress and activist has been starring on "Suits" since 2011 — Season 7 debuted in July — but became a major star this year as her relationship with the British royal got more serious. Though they've been dating since mid-2016, this is the year they made their first public appearance together — at his beloved Invictus Games in September — which set tongues wagging that an engagement is coming soon. Meghan even spoke publicly about their relationship in Vanity Fair's October issue, saying, "I can tell you that at the end of the day I think it's really simple. We're two people who are really happy and in love."

RELATED: A timeline of Meghan and Harry's whirlwind romance

In June, Cardi B released what would become the song of the summer, "Bodak Yellow." The track got so popular that the 25-year-old rapper dethroned Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" from the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 (which inspired Taylor to send Cardi a bouquet of flowers to commemorate the occasion). "It was a lovely surprise," Cardi told Billboard. "It was kinda like a close race. It was like when Obama was running for president. I'm like, 'Ahhhhh!'" In October, Cardi B made headlines again when her boyfriend, Offset, proposed mid-concert with an enormous diamond engagement ring.

RELATED: Celeb engagement rings revealed

Lili Reinhart's show, "Riverdale," premiered in January and has grown more and more popular each week. Since the CW series started, Lili has taken home two Teen Choice Awards (including one for breakout TV star). "The fans care so much about our show and are invested in these characters," the 20 year old told The Huffington Post. "I'm honestly so grateful. It still amazes me how passionate they are. Some people have even watched our [first] season twice. That's amazing." Lili's also made headlines since being romantically linked to "Riverdale" co-star Cole Sprouse.

RELATED: What's my age again? Older actors who played teen students

Iain Armitage has been everywhere this year. First, the 9-year-old actor won hearts as Ziggy Chapman on "Big Little Lies." Then he nabbed the lead role on "Young Sheldon," a "The Big Bang Theory" prequel. But he swears it's not all work and no play. "I'm still a kid," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I get my play time." However, between those TV roles and parts in movies like "The Glass Castle" and "Our Souls At Night," it's not totally clear when he has time to hit the playground.

Like Iain Armitage, child star Darby Camp had a big year that only started with "Big Little Lies." After playing precocious, music-obsessed Chloe Mackenzie alongside Reese Witherspoon, Darby had a major role on the "Grey's Anatomy" season finale and also has three films coming up. As for the future, she's taking advice from her on-screen mom. "I want to be an actor when I get older," Darby told Vulture. "I think Reese said, 'Don't do the main character in big TV shows, like every single episode, every single season. Don't be started on that.' She started on movies and drama and that kind of stuff. She said that's how she started out, and that would be better for a child."

Corinne Olympios instantly became a classic "The Bachelor" contestant when she admitted to having a nanny, Raquel, on the ABC show's 21st season. Her outrageous antics made her a fan favorite and a natural fit for "Bachelor in Paradise." However, her time on the spin-off didn't last, as the cheese pasta-loving 25 year old became involved in a sex scandal that halted production — and when it returned, she didn't.

Khalid's songs "Location" and "Young Dumb & Broke" have been all over the airwaves since the soul-infused R&B singer came onto the scene with his album "American Teen." The 19 year old is grateful to Kylie Jenner, who shared his music on Snapchat before he made it big. "I don't think anyone could be prepared for what happened," he told The Boston Globe. "One day I was literally standing in line at graduation about to accept my diploma, the next minute, one of the biggest social icons, Kylie Jenner, is jamming to 'Location.'"

While Yara Shahidi has been playing Zoey Johnson on "Black-ish" since 2014, this past year has been major for her. In addition to nailing a spin-off, "College-ish," she became an activist and one of the best-dressed actresses on any red carpet. "I just need more hands to do it all," Yara told Harper's Bazaar of her ambitions. "If one more pair of hands could write an essay for me while I learned to sew and the others annotated a script, that would be so great."

Joe Alwyn found himself instantly famous when his relationship with Taylor Swift was revealed in May — which was amplified when she released new track "Gorgeous," which is believed to be about him — but that's not the only thing that earned Joe a spot on this list. This year, the British actor appeared in the movie "The Sense of an Ending" and made his debut as a Prada model. He's also working on three more films. Not bad for someone who only had one movie role before 2017!

Yvonne Strahovski has been working steadily for years, but her work as ice-cold Serena Joy on "The Handmaid's Tale" gave her a new level of popularity. She has called her role on the Hulu show "amazing," adding, "It's something that is obviously incredibly relevant considering the political climate that we're in right now, and accidentally so," she explained to Flare. "We were shooting this show before and after the election and there have been issues that have arisen out of the election that the show directly parallels." She also made headlines when she revealed at the Emmys that she secretly married actor Tim Loden this summer.

Ann Dowd plays the terrifying Aunt Lydia on "The Handmaid's Tale," a performance that won her an Emmy this year, her first after more than 30 years of acting. "I have been acting for a long time and that this should happen now, I don't have the words," she gushed during her acceptance speech.

Between "Beauty and the Beast" and "Legion," Dan Stevens was very busy this year. However, he says even with these buzzy roles, he doesn't often get recognized. "I like to hop around in terms of physicality and looks between roles these days," the "Downton Abbey" alum explained to ELLE. "Different from 'Legion' at the moment. Hopefully a little different from the Beast as well. So from time to time [I get recognized]. It sort of depends on the day. Whether I shaved or not."

Miley Cyrus's little sister, Noah Cyrus, stepped out of her big sister's shadow this year, making a name for herself with songs like "Make Me (Cry)" and "Stay Together." If you think Miley — who has given her 17-year-old sister plenty of advice as her star rises — is her greatest inspiration, think again. "Lady Gaga," Noah said when Town & Country asked who her greatest influence has been. "She doesn't care what anyone else thinks. I admire that."

Ruth Negga was a mainstay on every red carpet during awards season thanks to her compelling performance in "Loving," which even earned her an Academy Award nomination for best actress. Her successes could have come earlier, had her role in the 2013 film "12 Years A Slave" not been cut. "That's an understatement!" the Ethiopian-Irish actress told the Irish Times of her disappointment. "I got a call from [director Steve McQueen] and I knew as soon as the phone started ringing, I just knew… He let me down gently."

Since January, Timothée Chalamet has been getting Oscar buzz for his performance in "Call Me by Your Name" a movie about a love affair between two men, which also stars Armie Hammer. The two clicked immediately, the 21 year old explained to W Magazine. "We both realized that the story was simultaneously important, fresh, relevant, artistic and out there," he said, adding that it was draining to film. "I had to take a month-long detox after we finished shooting." Timothée — who once dated Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon — also appears in the buzzy new Saoirse Ronan film "Lady Bird" and stars opposite Selena Gomez in Woody Allen's 2018 flick "A Rainy Day in New York."

Kelly Rohrbach made a splash this summer when she co-starred in the "Baywatch" movie alongside Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson. The model's role as CJ Parker was originally not as complex, but she urged her director to rewrite it. "I wasn't interested in playing the hot-girl role," the 27-year-old model told Cosmopolitan. "I didn't want her to be an object but rather a dynamic, real person."

Bill Skarsgard followed in his family's footsteps beautifully this year. The younger brother of Alexander Skarsgard and "Vikings" actor Gustaf Skarsgard and son of Stellan Skarsgard became a full-fledged star in his own right with this year's movie "It," in which he plays the terrifying role of Pennywise. "I wouldn't want to be associated with one character, because I want to be able to do different roles," the Swedish actor explained to The New York Times while discussing his hours-long makeup transformation into the frightening clown. "Pennywise looks and sounds so different from me that I could do a rom-com next, and people probably wouldn't even know I was the same guy."

When Alexandra Breckenridge's character, Sophie, was introduced on "This Is Us," audiences immediately fell in love with the story between her and Kevin (played by Justin Hartley), which is told over three time periods. Before playing a Hollywood actor's ex-wife, the 35 year old was specializing in horror roles with appearances on "American Horror Story" and "The Walking Dead."

James Arthur won Britain's "The X Factor" in 2012, but 2017 was the year he made serious waves on U.S. radio. His song "Say You Won't Let Go" emerged as the most romantic song of the year. "The writing came really easy, maybe the easiest song I've ever written," he told Songwriter Universe. "I felt like I was just talking from personal experience in the first verse. The second verse was about where I'd like to be, or where anyone would like to be, which is to be with a soulmate, with kids and a wife or husband."

After four years on "The Daily Show," Jessica Williams broke off to do her own thing — a mix of working on her podcast, doing comedy and acting — specifically with her Netflix comedic film "The Incredible Jessica James," which was written specifically for her by a former collaborator. "I was so flattered. It's like friendship-romantic," she told Vanity Fair. "I feel really lucky."

Julia Michaels might have sung a song about "Issues" this year, but 2017 has been pretty fantastic to her. After co-writing nine hit tracks including Selena Gomez's "Hands to Myself" and Justin Bieber's "Sorry," she started focusing on her own music. "Honestly, I had no expectations going in," she told Billboard. "I was like, 'Oh I'll put out 'Issues' and maybe six or seven people will hear it and love it and connect to it.' We had absolutely no idea that months later, the whole world was going to hear it and accept it and love it, and that I would be putting out my very own mini-album."

Brandon Michael Hall's new comedy, "The Mayor," combines his loves of acting, music and politics. "Since rap is rooted in politics and in change, when I saw that I got to rap for this show, I knew this was something that was up my alley," the 24-year-old Juilliard alum told Town & Country. "It also means a lot that I can influence people not only through the story but also through the music created for the show."

Iris Law is the latest offspring of famous parents to make a huge impact in the modeling world. The 17-year-old daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost has taken after godmother Kate Moss (no big deal) and booked a major modeling campaign with Burberry. This wasn't always her plan though. "I was never a little kid who talked about modeling. I was more like, 'I wanted to be an underwater vet,'" she told W Magazine. "I don't know what I thought it was, but I just wanted to live underwater and be a vet. And then I wanted to be a chef."

Brit Marling created, executive produced and starred on Netflix's "The OA," which caught on in popularity at the beginning of the year. Before she was a triple threat in Hollywood, she was a banking intern at Goldman Sachs, surprisingly enough. "It became very easy to turn the other direction because it's like you live your backup plan first," she told Glamour. "So I moved to L.A. with some people and wanted to act, which I was really embarrassed to admit at first. It was very hard to tell my parents or anyone else, because they're like, 'Wait, what? You studied economics. This doesn't make any sense!'"

Sonequa Martin-Gree​n came back to life this year. After getting killed off "The Walking Dead," she immediately booked a starring role on "Star Trek: Discovery." "It's really amazing that I was able to leave such a powerful show and go to another — one Goliath after another, from legacy to legacy. It's just miraculous," she told TVLine. "I'm also really happy with how the timing with everything worked out, because I didn't know about [my being cast on] 'Star Trek' until the 'Walking Dead' finale was well underway."

"When people used to ask what I wanted to be, I'd always say a singer, but I never thought it was a real job. I thought it was as far-fetched as cartoon characters on TV," Dua Lipa, whose songs "New Rules" and "Be The One" earned her critical and commercial success this year, told NME. To put the 22 year old's achievements this year into perspective, she's the first female solo artist since Adele to earn a No. 1 hit on the U.K. charts!

Carly Pearce is taking the country music world by storm and she learned it all from Dolly Parton, working at her theme park, Dollywood, starting at age 16. "I did six shows a day, five days a week," the 27 year old told Billboard. "We did everything from June Carter and The Carter Family to Patsy Cline to Taylor Swift. It was an intense crash course on what was to come in Nashville." Interestingly, her breakout song, "Every Little Thing," was passed on by numerous labels. "I really didn't think it would be the song that helped to break me in the industry — especially not in the summer," she added.

Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid's 25-year-old son, Jack Quaid, is making quite a name for himself. After appearing in the "Hunger Games" film franchise and 2017's "Logan Lucky" and "Tragedy Girls," he's finally proving himself to be more than just part of a Hollywood power family. However, he isn't too worried about achieving the same level of success his parents did. "It is just really fun doing this," he told People magazine, "so let's just keep it up. Making it or not, this is great."

Tiffany Haddish completely stole the show in the summer movie "Girls Trip," in which she played the outlandish Dina. "There's a lot of things she says that remind me of myself, but then there's a lot of things that she does that I would probably never do," the comedian explained to Vanity Fair. "I imagine Dina as myself times 10." Then in November, she made history: Tiffany became the first African-American female comedian ever to host "Saturday Night Live."